Filling fork for looms



De- 3, 1929. K. J. uNwlN 1,737,690,-l

FILLING FORK FOR LOOMS Fild May 18. 1928 J0 l! .um U

Pfaff Jaffa fo Y Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEKENNETH J. UNWIN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T CROMPTON &KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTERj MASSACHUSETTS-A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS FILLING FORK FOR LOOMS Application filed May 18, 1928.

This invention relates to filling stop motions for looms and it is thegeneral object of the invention to provide means for varying thepressure on the filling fork as the same moves toward detecting positionto the end that a reduced pressure may be exerted on the warp when it isin contact with the filling.

In co-pending application Ser. No. 278,902 filed by Feehan there isshown a filling stop motion wherein weights are operative throughout aportion of the movement of the iilling fork toward detecting position tomove said fork but the weights are arrested before the fork completesits motion so that the weight of the fork and parts associated therewithother than the weights exert the only force which is brought to bear onthe filling. The construction shown in said application is subject tomore or less rattling and derangement as the loom operates due to thefact that the weights are free to slide on the upright connector betweenthe dagger carrier and the arm which controls the motion of the fillingfork, and it is an important object of my present invention to provide aspring stressed device which will be under strain at all times so as tobe held against undue vibration, said device being operative only duringthe rst part of thev downward movement of the filling fork and beingmoved out of controlling position with respect to the fork before thelatter completes its detecting movement.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In theaccompanying drawings, where two forms of my invention are shown,

Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the loomhaving the preferred form of my invention applied thereto with the partsshown in knocking-off position,

Fig. 2 is a detail front elevation taken in the direction of arrow 2,Fig. 1 and showing the spring actuated arm in its lowest positioncorresponding to the llatter part of the motion of the fork as the samedetects for filling,

Serial No. 278,893.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the spring arm in the raisedposition which it assumes at the beginning of the detecting stroke ofthe fork,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal detail section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 showing a modified formof the invention.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a breast beam having a bracket11 in which is secured a bearing 12 for a shipper rod or shaft 13. Saidrod has secured thereto an arm 14 which extends rearwardly and liesunder a lug 15 cast preferably as an integral part of the knock-oftlever 16. The latter is pivoted as at 17 to a bracket 18 fast withrespect to the breast beam 10. A lug 19 on'A the bracket 18 limitsrearward movement of' the upper part ofthe lever 16 and deiines theposition of said lever 16 when the parts are in normal position.

A cam plate 20 having a forwardly and downwardly inclined face 21 isadjustably secured by means of bolt 22 to the rear part of the bracket18. Said cam plate cooperates with the dagger 23 held in a daggercarrier 24 which is pivoted as at 25 to a bracket 26 secured to the lay27. The rear end of said carrier may be oounterweighted if desired asshown in Fig. 1.

A vertical connector C has the lower end thereof pivotally connected asat 28 to the carrier 24 and has the upper end thereof pivoted as at 29to an arm 30 secured to one end of a stub shaft 31. Said stub shaft asshown in Figs. 2 and 3 extends through a pair of spaced bearings 32formed as parts of the bracket 26. f

The fork element includes a cylindrical the high part of the cam plate20. As the lay advances toward the breast beam the dagger will move downalong the cam face 21 to depress the connector C. 'Ihis has the effectof moving the tines 36 from a raised position to a substantiallyhorizontal position to engage the filling WV. If the weft supports thetines 36 further downward movement of the dagger 23 will be preventedand the latter will pass over the top of the knock-ottl lever 16 as thelay completes its forward movement.

Should weft be absent, however, there will be nothing to support thetines 36 and they will move into the well 38 to permit the dagger 23 tomove downwardly a sufficient distance to have loom stopping engagementwith the lever 16 as the lay nears the limit of its forward movement.

rIhe matter thus far described, except the particular form of connectorC, is common to both forms of my invention, is of usual construction,forms no part of my present invention, and maybe substantially as shownin the following patents: Gr. F. Hutchins, 560,- 036; McGuinness,`1,223,703 and Gagnon, 1,243,831. The filling stop motion set forthspecifically herein is that which is known in the trade as the No. 9 orKnowles center stop motion.

In carrying the preferred formof my invention into effect I provideresilient means for varying the forces which are brought to play on thefilling fork as the latter moves downwardly, modifying the connector Cand associating therewith a spring which is operatively related to saidconnector C throughout a portion only of the downward movement of theconnector. Accordingly, I provide the connector C with an engagingshoulder and provide a spring member S having Va coiled part 5i which islocated around a boss cast on the bracket 26. One end of the springmember extends horizontally as at 53 over the shoulder 50 and lug 54cast on the bracket 26. The other end of the spring member extendsdownwardly as atand engages the left hand side of lug 54 as shown inFigs. 2 and 3, being preferably in' engagement with said lug preferablythough not necessarily at all times. Cotter pin ID inserted through boss52 prevents spring member S from lateral displacement. Shoulder 50 mayhave upstanding lip 50 to help guide end 53. Y

In the operation of thepreferred form of my invention, when the dagger23 is in its highest position and the lay is in rearward position,shoulder 50 will be in engagement with the horizontal end 53 of spring Sand and will hold the latter in the raised position away from lug 54, asshown in Fig. 3, thereby stressing said spring member. As the lay movesforwardly and the dagger starts to move down face 21 the connector Cwill move downwardly and with it the shoulder 50,

so that the end 53 will be able to follow the shoulder to insure properstarting of the downward movement of the tines 36. As the latterdescend, however, the end 53 will come in contact with lug 54 andfurther downward movement of said end will be prevented.

As the dagger 23 continues to move down the surface 21, therefore, onlysuch force will be brought into play to lower the tines 36 as resultsfrom the weight of the connector, dagger, dagger carrier and arm 30,together with the weight of the tines. In this way, the pressure exertedon the filling by the tines 36 is considerably less than would beexerted if the spring arm 53 were not arrested in its downward movement.The filling will therefore be spared any undue tensioning at a pointintermediate the selvages of the cloth and formation of kinks or looseplaces in the cloth will be prevented.

It is to be understood that the weight of the parts permanentlyconnected to the connector C exert a force of one magnitude acting tolower the tines of the fork toward detecting position, and it will beunderstood that the combined force exerted by the spring end 53 when incontact with the shoulder 50 plus the weight of the parts associatedwith the connector part C exert a force of the greater magnitude tendingto move said tines into the well 38.

In the modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 5, wherein all partsexcept the connector and the parts associated therewith are the same asin the preferred form, the connector rod K has a head 7 O for the upperend thereof and may have the lower end thereof formed as at 71 forpivotal connection with the dagger carrier. A collar 72 loose on thesubstantially cylindrical connector K is held upwardly by a compressionspring 73, the lower end of which may bear against the portion 71 of theconnector. A cotter pin or other suitable stopping device 7 4 which isnormally rigid with respect to the connector K limits upward movement ofthe collar 72. A stop 75 which is rigid with respect to Athe lay is sopositioned as to engage the collar 712 and cause the latter to sliderelatively to the connector K when the fork and connector K are raised.As the connector K rises while the lay is moving rearwardly the collar72 will engage the stop 75 so that further upward motion of theconnector will cause the pin 74 to move upwardly away from the collarand compress the spring 73. As the lay moves forwardly and the daggermoves down the cam face, the spring 73 exerts a force the effect ofwhich is to lower the dagger and filling` fork. During this forwardmovement of the dagger the connector will descend and stop or pin 74will approach and finally engage collar 72. Thereafter, further descentof the connector K will carry the spring and collar away from stop 75yand the spring will have no further effect on the tines of the fillingforli. In this way correct downward movement is insured at the beginningof the detecting stroke of the fork, but the additional pressure exertedby the spring 7 3 is relieved before the fork completes its detectingmovement.

In the operation of the modified form, with the lay in rearward positionthe connector K will be in raised position with collar 72 held upagainst stop 75 by spring 73, and with cotter pin or stop fi spacedabove the collar.

F rom the foregoing it will be seen that in each form of the invention Ihave provided a very simple spring actuated device which tends to varythe pressure brought to bear on the tines of the filling fork as theymove toward detecting position. In both forms of the invention thespring is rendered ineffective to act on the fork during the end of thedetecting` movement of the latter. I do not wish to be limited to theparticular showings given herein as it is within the scope of myinvention to provide a resilient device operative to cause motion of thefork during the first portion of the movement of the tines 36 towarddetecting position and to be rendered inoperative during the remainderof the movement of the tines toward detecting position.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the artV withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a. filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a filling forknormally in non-detecting position when the lay is in rearward position,a spring to exert a force on said fork tending to move the latter towarddetecting position as the lay advances, and means to arrest motion ofthe spring relatively to the lay as the fork nears the end `of itsmovement toward detecting position.

2. In a filling stop motion for a loom hav- `ing a lay, a filling forkheld in non-detecting position when the lay is in rearward position, aresilient means tending to move the fork toward detecting position whenthe lay is in rearward position, and means to render said resilientmeans ineffective to act on the fork as the latter nears the end of itsmovement toward detecting position, said fork being movableindependently of the resilient means when said fork moves to indicateweft absence.

3. In a filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a filling fork heldin non-detecting poistion when the lay is in rearward position,resilient means normally under strain and tending to move the forktoward detecting position when the lay is in rearward position, andmeans to render said resilient means ineffective to act on the fork asthe latter nears the end of its movement toward detecting position, saidforli: being movable independently of the resilient means when said forkmoves to indicate weft absence.

4. In a filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a filling fork heldin non-detecting position when the lay is in rearward position,resilient means having such relation with the fork that when the lay isin rearward position said means tends to move said fork toward detectingposition, and means to disrupt the relation between the fork andresilient means as the fork approaches the end of its detectingmovement.

5. In a filling stop motion for looms, a detecting element movable fromnon-detecting to detecting position, a spring, means to establishoperative connection vbetween the spring and the detecting element whenthe latter is in non-detecting position so that said spring will tend tomove the detecting element toward detecting position, and means tointerrupt the operative connection between the spring and detectingelement as the latter nears the end of its detecting movement.

6. In a weft detecting mechanism for a loom having a lay, a detectingelement movably mounted on the lay to move from nondetecting todetecting position, a spring supported by the lay and having a portionto be in operative relation with respect to the detecting element whenthe latter is in nondetecting position tending to move said elementtoward detect-ing position, and a stop fixed with respect to the lay toengage said spring and prevent the latter from having operativeconnection with the detecting element as the latter nears the end of itsdetecting movement.

7. In a filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a weft detectingelement pivotally mounted with respect to the lay, a spring membersupported by the lay, means to establish operative connection betweenthe spring member andx the detecting element when the lay is in rearwardposition and tending to move the said element toward detect-ingposition, and a stop fixed relatively to the lay to limit movement ofthe spring member and break the yoperative connection between the latterand the element as the lay nears the end of its forward movement and thedetecting element approaches the end of its detecting movement.

8. In a filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a weft detectingelement pivotally mounted with respect to the lay and movable fromnon-detecting to detecting position as the lay advances, a spring havinga coiled portion and an extending arm, a support for the coiled portionfixed relatively to the lay, means to establish operative connectionbetween the arm and the element when the lay is in rearward position andthe detecting element is in non-detecting position, and means fixedrelatively to the lay to engage said arm to break the connection betweensaid arm and the detecting element as the latter nears the end of itsdetecting movement.

9. In a filling stop motion for a loom having a lay, a detecting elementmovable with respect to the lay from non-detecting to detectingposition, a spring member including a coiled portion and two extendingarms, a stop means rigid with respect to the lay to engage both of saidarms, and means to establish operative connection between one of thearms and the element tending to move the element y toward detectingposition, said stop engaging said last named arm to break operativeconnection between saidlast named arm and the element as the latternears the end of its detecting movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afixed my signature.

KENNETH J. UNWIN.

